There's nothing like finding a true design gem first thing in the morning. I can't believe I haven't familiarised myself with this before, but John Maeda's 5 Reactive Books seem ground breaking for their time, and are full of inspiration for the kind of 'data conversion' I've been banging on about lately. These examples will probably come in more useful well I come closer to finalising an outcome, but they are really really lovely and I'll have to keep them in mind.
What was meant to be a quick visit to his website resulted in getting side-tracked completely with a thorough read and pondering of his latest investigation: What is design? Giving considerations to various design disciplines, corporate influences, social contexts and differences between design thinking and design methodology, this is like reading the flow of consciousness of a very experienced and clever design detective. Although Maeda doesn't know the answer yet (is this even possible?), his musings and references give ample food for thought. Couldn't have asked for a better start to a day dedicated to writing about design.
The thing that has stuck with me now is a quote he got from a designer friend of his, that relates specifically to my analysis of the intersection between science and design enquiry:
"You can't turn design into complete logic, otherwise it loses its true power." —Tad Toulis
